Sacramento Parking Fees Increase

The Sacramento City Council has voted to increase the hourly parking meter fee by 50 cents to $1.75.

The council also voted to approve a trial program for the area of 18th and L Streets that would allow you to park longer than the maximum time posted. The first extra hour will cost $3. Additional hours will cost $3.75.

Eric Johnson works at Aioli Restaurant and says some customers will appreciate having more time.

"It is kind of nice that they'll give you the opportunity to re-up your time because, before -once your 90 minutes were up- if they noticed, say, that you just kept feeding the meter, they would still give you a ticket even if your meter had money on it."

Though he's confident restaurant customers would pay extra for convenience, he's unsure how customers of area businesses will react.

"I really don't know to be honest. Kind of see how the trial program goes and see what the consensus is of the people and kind of go from there."

Across the street, at Crepeville, Bob Saari was eating brunch. He recoiled at the thought of paying three times what he does now for parking.

"It seems outrageous and this is a business district -a restaurant district where people hang out for an hour or two or three or more and that's a nice way to really bilk them for some change, isn't it."

Shayon Konjkav is a server at Crepeville. He says the cost for people who work in the area would cancel any future minimum wage increase.

Bob reports on all things northern California and Nevada. His coverage of police technology, local athletes, and the environment has won a regional Associated Press and several Edward R. Murrow awards. Read Full Bio